The TV story I saw last night said that because the Flint water system failed to add the anti-corrosion chemicals they should have added to their water, not only did the water leach lead from the pipes to poison people, but also, the anti-bacterials added to the water might have been neutralized.
In other words, the same negligence and incompetence that caused kids to be poisoned with lead may have also caused ten people to die of Legionnaire’s disease. Can we see some murder charges here, please, if this hypothesis proves out?
emilybee,
DId you see the pediatrician in the background just shaking her head in disbelief when they were trying to claim only a handful of kids were affected? Um, NO. Its in the water system. Its a community-wide health issue.
I am grateful that at least this should spell the end to Mr. Snyder’s future political aspirations.
Sadly, the duration of the legionaires outbreak with it only now coming to light (a full year so far) illustrates the low-priority treatment that Flint is dealing with. We had an outbreak in my city (suburbs of Detroit) a couple years ago and it was addressed immediately with intense city and county health department support and quick resolution. Legionaires requires active and intense investigation to isolate the source, clean it up, and protect others from being exposed. The fact that Flint is still just now bringing it to notice is outrageous.
It’s become par for the course around here, unfortunately, @partyof5. The state has made it clear over and over again that the lives of certain residents are simply not valuable.
I talked to my dad today and he’s apparently reaching out to his plumber friends (he used to own his own plumbing company and still has plenty of contacts) to see if he can get a group of them to go to Flint one weekend soon and lend their labor to install filters. He’s got a few on board but the problem is that they haven’t, until recently, had access to supplies. They, unfortunately, simply can’t afford to buy the filters. Now that FEMA and a few others are involved, the supplies are there and he’s going to see if they can be of use.
This whole thing is just so beyond fathomable. These things shouldn’t happen anywhere, let alone in the richest country in the world.
@romanigypsyeyes thats so awesome that your dad is trying to help. You always think things cant happen here in the US, like Katrina, and then we show time and again we are not prepared for a crisis. Unfortunately it seems as if the governor didnt seem to think this was a crisis, smdh…
I think nobody in a position of power/knowledge cares! I am sorry your hands are not tied. if people are getting sick (or worse) if you need be a whistle blower. it sounds like an uncaring bureaucrat…to use that as an excuse!
Snyder is about to give his State-of-the Lies, oops, I mean State-of-the-State address. I can’t stomach listening to him. From what I’ve seen, he just seems irritated that this has happened, not the least remorseful.
When I think of all the money that this is going to cost the taxpayers, and how it could have gone to positive things for Flint or Detroit instead of fixing what shouldn’t have been broken it makes me sick.
This whole thing is so sad. I grew up in Michigan around the St Louis/Alma area. This reminds me of the PBB contamination from 40 or so years ago. The EPA is still continuing the cleanup and investigation at the St Louis super fund site. While it would be nice to think that they will fix the Flint water problem quickly history shows that when the govt is involved it is going to take a long time.